[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 102 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 102
To require Federal agencies to impose in-person work requirements for
employees of those agencies and to occupy a certain portion of the
office space of those agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 15, 2025
Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require Federal agencies to impose in-person work requirements for
employees of those agencies and to occupy a certain portion of the
office space of those agencies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reinforce Occupancy Obligations for
Maximized Interagency Efficiency Act'' or the ``ROOMIE Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of General Services.
(2) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term in section 621 of title 40, United
States Code.
(3) Federal civilian real property.--The term ``Federal
civilian real property'' has the meaning given the term in
section 3 of the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016
(40 U.S.C. 1303 note; Public Law 114-287).
(4) Usable square feet.--The term ``usable square feet''
has the meaning given the term by the Administrator.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) according to a 2023 review of Federal agencies by the
Government Accountability Office--
(A) 17 Federal agencies ``used on average an
estimated 25 percent or less of the capacity of their
headquarters buildings''; and
(B) 1 Federal agency headquarters examined would
only occupy 67 percent of the office space of the
Federal agency if 100 percent of the employees of the
Federal agency worked in-person;
(2) according to a 2024 report by the Public Buildings
Reform Board established by section 4(a) of the Federal Assets
Sale and Transfer Act of 2016 (40 U.S.C. 1303 note; Public Law
114-287)--
(A) in the National Capital Region, the Federal
Government owns or leases almost 90,000,000 square feet
of property;
(B) a sample of Federal properties in Washington,
D.C., maintained only 12 percent capacity on average;
(C) ``billions of dollars are being expended on
buildings that should be disposed of given the new
normal of low occupancy''; and
(D) some Federal agencies have developed cultural
expectations that they should retain a ``flagship''
property despite significant under usage of that
property; and
(3) according to a 2023 report by the Office of Audits of
the Office of Inspector General of the General Services
Administration--
(A) Federal Government buildings can pose
significant health risks if they remain underutilized;
and
(B) since July 2023, ``elevated levels of
Legionella'', which is a bacterium that can cause
serious infection and death, ``were found in six GSA-
controlled buildings, all of which are open to the
public''.
SEC. 4. IN-PERSON WORK REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Federal Agency Policy Modification.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency shall
amend the policies of the Federal agency, if necessary, to
require--
(A) not less than 80 percent of the employees of
the Federal agency to work in-person Monday through
Friday of each week, not including any day that is a
legal public holiday described in section 6103 of title
5, United States Code, as certified by the Director of
the Office of Personnel Management; and
(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), not less
than 60 percent of the usable square feet of the office
space of the Federal agency in any Federal civilian
real property owned, leased, or controlled by the
Federal agency to be occupied by employees of the
Federal agency, as certified by the Administrator.
(2) Exception.--
(A) In general.--If a Federal agency does not
employ enough individuals to occupy 60 percent of the
usable square feet of the office space of the Federal
agency in any Federal civilian real property owned,
leased, or controlled by the Federal agency, the head
of the Federal agency shall, not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, prepare and
submit to the Administrator, the Committee on
Environment and Public Works of the Senate, and the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the
House of Representatives an occupancy plan in
accordance with subparagraph (B).
(B) Requirements.--An occupancy plan prepared and
submitted under subparagraph (A) shall detail how the
Federal agency plans to reach 60 percent occupancy in
the usable square feet of the office space of the
Federal agency in any Federal civilian real property
owned, leased, or controlled by the Federal agency
through the use of individuals employed by any Federal
agency, with special consideration given to individuals
employed by different Federal agencies.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date that is 120 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to Congress a report regarding the
implementation of the requirement under subsection (a)(1), as certified
by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the
Administrator, as applicable.
SEC. 5. NONCOMPLIANCE.
(a) In General.--If a Federal agency fails to comply with section
4(a) by the deadlines described in that section, the Federal agency or
the General Services Administration, as applicable, shall sell,
terminate, or be prohibited from re-signing the lease for, the
applicable Federal civilian real property in accordance with subsection
(b) or (c), as applicable.
(b) Property Owned or Controlled by the Federal Agency.--If the
Federal agency owns or controls the Federal civilian real property in
which the office space described in subsection (a) is located, the
Federal agency or the General Services Administration, as applicable,
shall sell the Federal civilian real property.
(c) Property Leased by the Federal Agency.--If the Federal agency
leases the Federal civilian real property in which the office space
described in subsection (a) is located, the Federal agency or the
General Services Administration, as applicable--
(1) if the lease contains an early termination or other
applicable provision--
(A) shall execute that provision and terminate the
lease early; and
(B) shall not re-sign the lease; or
(2) if the lease does not contain an early termination or
other applicable provision, shall not re-sign the lease.
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